(slow music) - Got him! Ah. - [Mark] Did it get you again? - Got nailed again! On the palm of my hand. (cinematic music) (water splashing) - [Coyote Voiceover] When
I say the word island, what comes to your mind? I'm guessing a small, desolate blip of
land in the middle of a massive body of water. That's what I imagined when I came to the
Hawaiian Islands. However, once we
arrived on Kauai it was considerably larger than I ever imagined. Spanning roughly
560 square miles, it is the fourth
largest land mass in the chain of eight islands. Nicknamed the garden island it's interior is a diverse mix of dense tropical forests, canyons, rolling hills, and scattered pockets of human civilization. - What's going on guys. Right now, it's about
7:30 in the morning and the tide is at its lowest which is the perfect opportunity to search for marine creatures. And what we're going to do today is explore a place
called Secret Beach. But to get there, we're gonna have
to hike down this trail through the woods to get to the shoreline. I hope you guys are ready 'cause it's adventure time. - [Coyote Voiceover]
When it comes to the coastline, no matter where you stand, the Pacific ocean rules the horizon line, stretching further
than the eye can see in all directions. - Going down in the easy part. It's getting back up the hill after an afternoon
of tide pooling that's really gonna be brutal. (drums beating) Oh, wow! Look at that, blue sky, blue water. Golden sand. If you want a picture
perfect image of Hawaii, this is truly it. Looks like there's rocks off in this direction and where there are rocks, there are tide pools and where there are tide pools, there are marine creatures. (slow, upbeat music) - [Coyote Voiceover]
As we traveled across the soft, golden sand, the sun's beating
rays were immediately noticeable as even at seven o'clock in the morning, the temperatures were nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit. - Alright, if we keep heading in this direction. You see down there,
all those waves crashing against those rocks and I imagine there are
probably some tide pools scattered up through there so let's head in that direction. - [Mark] Are the rocks
slippery out there? - They might be,
you can see this, check it out. This is all like super volcanic all this rock, ancient. And ah, great for
gripping on your boots when it's dry but when it's wet, it is like black ice so
be very, very careful as we're getting
closer to the water. - [Coyote Voiceover]
Stretched out before us was an elaborate
maze of inter-tidal pools. These pockets of
standing salt water were left behind
by the fallen tide and served as a much needed
refuge for marine animals that were hoping to
avoid the scorching sun. So it was just a matter
of methodically searching the pools one at a time to find some
creatures to feature in front of the cameras. - Look at all
these little pools. Tell me these like pockets that have like rocks in them these little mini
aquarium ecosystems. We got a bunch of
little snails in here. I did see a small fish swimming it went underneath the rock and it was hiding. That's cool, it's like its own little civilization right there in a tide pool. Now I do imagine that the water does get up high enough where this is all covered probably to the rock line here. But in the time being, let's see this water, wow it's actually pretty cool down there in the rocks. You can feel it's warmer at the surface. As I put my hand in deeper, it is much cooler. So it would not be
difficult for small marine creatures to survive. Alright, well I don't see anything catchable in here. Let's keep going that way. (upbeat music) It's a little
black sea cucumber. There's some movement up here. - [Mark] Yep. - You, see that. - [Mark] Yep, there is. - Let's head up there. Oh my gosh, I got a little
shrimp thing right here. - [Mark] A what thing? - [Coyote] It's some
weird shrimp creature. - [Mark] Okay. - Oh whoa. Got him! - [Mark] Whoa,
what is that thing? - That is some sort
of shrimp creature. Oo, I see you buddy. Whoa, it's all spiky. Got to be very
gentle with its legs. It's incredibly fragile. Get you off of there. Look at that. That's a shrimp Of some sort. Whoa look at its colors. It's so bright. That's crazy, can you see its thorax
there, its tail. See its tail? - [Mark] Oh yeah, it's like a coral shrimp or something. - I'm gonna have to
look that species up in our field guide. That's actually
the first time I've ever caught a shrimp. Trying to catch zebra blenies and I just look in and see this brightly colored
alien looking creature. Look at all its antennae. Like little strands of
fishing line in the wind. How cool is that. Wow. Alright, I'm gonna put this guy on my hand and let's see
if it'll swim backwards. Are you ready? - [Mark] Yeah. - Bye buddy. - [Mark] Cool, look at that. Awesome, that was a cool find. - Wow, did not expect to catch a shrimp. Super cool! - [Coyote Voiceover]
Moving further down the shoreline, I carefully searched
in every nook and crevice I could find. These shaded sand havens were ideal hiding spots for all kinds of animals. And it wasn't long before we came across our next find. - [Mark] Is the water cold? - Ah a little bit. It's cold way down
deep inú there. See if I can get this, it's a Banded sea urchin. It's stuck to this rock. There it is, floating. Hold on. Ow! Ow! They are venomous. - [Mark] Did you get a spine? - I did. Got it. - [Mark] Nice. - [Coyote] Balancing
it on a rock. Very, very, slowly. I can confirm that sea urchins do sting. And it does hurt. Real slowly, I got
it balanced here. Can you see it? - [Mark] Yep. - That's a banded sea urchin right there. I'm gonna keep it
partially in the water. Look at that. Wow! Like a little tide
pool porcupine. Now, the sea urchins in
Hawaii have a nickname. Sometimes they call them the Hawaiian tattoo because they say it feels
like getting a tattoo with all the little spines that go into your skin. And as I reached down and tried to gently
coax this one up I actually took a stinger right in the finger. Not a problem,
doesn't hurt too bad. Kind of feels like bee sting. - [Mark] Ah, look at him move. - Wo! These are venomous, very mild venom. But I can certainly
attest to the fact that it feels about like a bee sting. I'm gonna gently get this-- - Kind of looks like lion fish in a way.
- In my hand here. There we go little sea urchin. Very cool! Look at that. Isn't that beautiful? - [Mark] Gorgeous. - Look at that banded striping, and that's where they get that name Banded Sea Urchin and for the sake of not wanting to get spined again, I think if you guys
got decent shots, I'm going to go ahead and put it back into the water. 'Cause my hand is very soft from being wet all morning. And this sting
definitely does hurt. - Ah! - [Mark] Did he get you again? - Got nailed again, all on the palm of my hand. - [Mark] How did that happen? - Choo choo. - [Mark] Really? - Put the little spines down. Yowsers, okay well
good, look at that. Now it's tucked back into a tiny little shaded corner. - [Mark] Wow, that
was fast, it like. - They move a lot faster than you would think
when they want to and ah, it is definitely risky to ever try to
handle a sea urchin. I don't recommend that
you try to doing it. Some have venom that is very toxic. This one is very mild. Ah my hand does burn right now. The tip of my finger feels like about like a bee sting. It is uncomfortable. So do not try to
handle sea urchins. But I'm glad we got
that one up close for the cameras. 'Cause I knew they were here in these tide pools, a very common species
here on Kauai. Alright guys, let's keep moving. - [Coyote Voiceover]
Exploring at low tide can be a risky adventure. Not only were the rocks slippery and sharp, but the drop offs into the ocean were
dangerously turbulent. So the crew and I did our best to move with caution
and precision. - Alright guys so we've hit kind of an impasse. We've got to move all the gear and all of our little
observation containers up and over this rock wall. Still a lot to explore. - [Coyote Voiceover]
We had traveled for nearly three miles
down the coastline before coming to upon
a massive outcrop lined with jagged rocks and
intricate cavernous pockets this was a perfect
place to search. And before we knew it, we found ourselves smack dab in the middle
of sea urchin city. - Wow, look at this! - [Mark] Oh man. That's like a tide
pool paradise. - Be very careful. Wo! It's a beautiful water, we got a waterfall
coming off there. And a couple of
perfect tide pools. It looks like if we head in this
direction we can get down and start exploring. I think this might be it guys. This is a gold mine, the secret spot that's gonna have the coolest
creature of the day. Wow, this almost looks
like a movie set. - [Mark] It does, well it kind of is a movie set, a movie set for real wilderness. - [Coyote] That's right. (cinematic music) Come on up here. Wo! - [Mark] Watch
where I'm stepping. - Ah it looks dangerous
down in there. - [Mark] Yeah it
does, look the tide's really coming in now. - A wave coming in here. Kind of scanning,
you never know, you can just see an
octopus slinking along. Oh cool, there's
another sea urchin. - [Mark] Oh wow, I see that. - There's two. Look at this. One pool, two different species. I'm just gonna grab them and bring him up there. - [Mark] Okay. - Ah this is great. We can compare both of
these species side by side. Hold on, I gotta gently
get this one off the rock. Got it. - [Mark] Whoa! - Look at that. - [Mark] That's a sea urchin? - That's a sea urchin alright let's back
up and get away from these breaking waves. Take a few steps back there. Watch where you're
stepping there. Look at this, okay. We're having a lot of luck with sea urchins and I put a little water into
this clear container so I can keep them hydrated. But on my left here, I have bore sea urchin. - [Mark] Bore, with a B? - With a B, bore like it digs into things. And on my right, a
helmet sea urchin. Two very distinct and different
looking sea urchins. Check that out. Now first, let's
take a quick look at the bore sea urchin. I'm gonna place this one back down into the water okay. Keep this guy cool and hydrated. Now believe it or not, this little marine creature is like this incredible
tidal pool mole in that it digs through
the environment. They have five teeth on their underside like this. And they chew through the rock. - [Mark] Whoa, really? - They chew through rock, believe it or not.
- [Mark] The rock we're standing on? - The rock we're standing on, they will bore right through it just like a drill and then they will use all of these outer spines
to wedge themselves in and keep a strong
holding position as they then dig deeper into this volcanic
rock structure. Now look at that,
now all the spikes are starting to fold down. Now what I'm gonna do
for you real quick, here Mark is gently hold it up and look at its underside there. Now that's both its
mouth and its butt. That you're looking
at right there. - [Mark] They're
one and the same? - One and the same. You see that, there's his little
bore mouth there. That's so cool. - [Mark] And that's what
chews through the rock? - That's what chews,
actually you can see the little teeth
right up front there. See those white, sticking out, oh he's retracting them back in. Now I do not know if these bite. They do not sting. And I would assume that with five teeth that can cut through rock, he can probably cut
through human skin. So I'm gonna be extra careful when handling this
tide pool creature but look at that. Now they do not sting like the banded variety right. So I'm not worrying
about any little spines going into my hand. However, if you do
step on one of these, if you're walking barefoot through the tide pool, trust me, it's like
stepping on a pin cushion. I've had it happen and it is not pleasant. Well that's pretty cool. But the one that I
really want to look at is the helmet urchin. I have never seen one
of these in the wild, only in books. And look at that. It really looks like a helmet and it's covered with
all these hard plates which I'm guessing
are made of calcium. It's kind of like an exoskeleton and what kind of
makes them really different from the bore variety is let me flip it over. Look at all of those tube feet on the other side side there. - [Mark] Oh man, it's really purple underneath. - Yeah. And very, very sticky. And there's its mouth, and its butt both
in the same place. And what they're doing is slowly moving along all of
this volcanic rock and they're eating all of the dying plant matter. So feasting on algae
and any dead plants all of that is fair game. So these guys kind of go through and clean the environment. They're filtering
all of this ecosystem through their bodies. So what's great about these is that they're an
indicator species. An indicator species means that if this animal is healthy, the environment is healthy. And I grabbed this one because it was the largest, but I also peaked
over the backside of the rock there and all the surf. There's about 30 of these on the back side of the rocks. Now you look at this creature and you say to yourself, man well obviously
nothing eats this. Believe it or not, humans eat sea urchins in several different cultures. Now, I look at this thing and I think to myself man this is like rock solid, what exactly are you gonna eat? It's actually the
insides that are edible. Now if you think eating a sea urchin sounds strange, here is something that's
even more bizarre. Several different
varieties actually have a parasite in their butt. That parasite is a crab. So let me flip
this guy over again a crab will actually bury itself into the sea urchin's butt and feast off of its insides. Ah! - [Mark] That sounds awful. - How would you like to have a crab crawling up your butt. - [Mark] To me, that, I think that answers itself, no way. - No fun, I hope you don't have a crab in your butt buddy. Alright, I'm gonna bring the bore urchin back up into the shot one more time. Get 'em side by side. Look at that! Two sea urchins that are so
distinctly different, so cool. I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave! Stay wild. We'll see you on
the next adventure. Alright, let's get these two back into the tide pools. - [Coyote Voiceover]
Like clock work, the tide was quickly returning so I carefully work my way down the rocky descent and
release the urchins right back where we found them. The diversity of marine
life along the coast of Kauai was impressive. And whether you are exploring
the tide pools under the cool darkness of night or braving the scorching
sun rays by day, it's indicator species like sea cucumbers and sea urchins
that truly exemplify just how healthy
this ecosystem is and will hopefully always stay. Hey, coyote pack. Have you picked up your tickets for the brave
adventures tour yet? There's only a few left. So make sure to
click on this link to reserve your seats today. And remember the tour
is the only place you can find one of the exclusive golden
adventure tickets. And don't forget, subscribe. So you can join me and the crew on our next big adventure. - I am so proud to have written this book and it was inspired by a lot of the adventures
that we have had. (coyote calling)
I was really hoping he could find one with a crab in its butt! Love these vids, I hope he pats his cameraman on the back a bunch often. I feel like a cameraman is like the catcher of the baseball team.